Washington, March 13 (IANS) The US said Friday that its military campaign against Iran had sharply degraded Tehran’s armed forces, with more than 6,000 targets struck and Iranian naval power rendered “combat ineffective” as the conflict entered its 13th day.
At a Pentagon news conference, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said American forces were intensifying operations under what officials described as Operation Epic Fury, targeting Iran’s missile infrastructure, naval assets, and defence industrial base.
“This morning, we enter the 13th day of Operation Epic Fury, and we continue to make progress toward our military objectives,” Caine told reporters.
The U.S. military has carried out a sustained air and missile campaign across Iran, striking military facilities, production centres, and launch systems that officials say enable Tehran to threaten American forces, regional partners, and commercial shipping.
“We’ve attacked over 6,000 targets, and our strike packages continue to launch every hour,” Caine said. “Centcom is now persistently over the enemy.”
According to the Pentagon, the campaign has significantly reduced Iran’s ability to conduct military operations.
“As Admiral Cooper said in his update on Wednesday, Iranian combat power continues to decline as a result of the continued strikes,” Caine said.
He added that American forces had inflicted major damage on Iran’s naval capabilities.
“In less than two weeks, we’ve rendered the Iranian Navy combat ineffective and continue to attack naval vessels,” he said, including ships armed with anti-ship and anti-aircraft weapons.
U.S. officials said the military campaign was designed to dismantle Iran’s capacity to threaten maritime traffic and project power in the region.
“Our bases or our partners there are continuing to destroy the Iranian Navy,” Caine said.
American forces are also targeting Iran’s mine-laying capabilities and infrastructure linked to attacks on commercial shipping.
“This means going after Iran’s mine-laying capability and destroying their ability to attack commercial vessels,” he said.
Despite the progress reported by the Pentagon, Caine cautioned that Iran still retained some capacity to threaten U.S. forces and international shipping.
“Iran still can harm friendly forces and commercial shipping, and our work on this effort continues,” he said.
Defence Secretary Hegseth said the objectives of the military campaign had remained consistent since the beginning of the conflict.
“We’ve defined these objectives. We’re pursuing those objectives,” he said.
He said the United States was focused on destroying Iranian missile launchers, crippling its defence industrial base, and degrading its naval forces.
“Launchers, missile launchers, defence industrial base, their navy, the ability to project power on the naval sense leading toward denying them the ability to get a nuclear weapon,” Hegseth said.
The defence secretary stressed that the administration was deliberately avoiding broader military or political objectives that had characterised earlier U.S. wars in the region.
“Mission creep or expansive missions or prolonged timelines or democracy building or nation building, you name it, has not been part of what President Trump wants us to be involved in,” he said.
Hegseth said President Donald Trump would ultimately determine the pace and duration of the campaign.
“The President has his hand on the throttle and will decide ultimately when they’ve been reached,” he said.
The Pentagon also indicated that the intensity of U.S. strikes was continuing to increase.
Caine said Thursday would be the most active day of the campaign so far.
“Today will be our busiest day,” he said.
Hegseth said the operation was ramping up across multiple domains.
“We continue to ramp up every tool of AI, of cyber, of space, EW, counter-UAS — you name it, we’re employing it,” he said.
The briefing also addressed concerns about the security of global energy routes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz.
Caine said Iranian actions were responsible for disruptions to commercial shipping through the strategic waterway.
“The only thing preventing commercial traffic and flow through the Straits right now… is Iran,” he said.
The Pentagon said the United States was prioritising operations aimed at neutralising Iran’s ability to threaten maritime traffic.
“We’ve made it a priority to target Iran’s mine-laying enterprise,” Caine said.
Hegseth said Washington had long anticipated Iranian attempts to use the strait as leverage during a conflict.
“For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
“We have a plan for every option here.”
The briefing also touched on the risks and costs of the ongoing military campaign.
Caine confirmed that a U.S. KC-135 refuelling aircraft had crashed over western Iraq during a combat mission.
The incident, he said, was not caused by hostile or friendly fire.
“We’re still treating this as an active rescue and recovery operation,” Caine said.
He added that four airmen had been recovered and that updates would be provided as more information became available.
“Our service members make an incredible sacrifice to go forward and do the things that the nation asks of them,” he said.
The chairman also noted a fire aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, saying the Pentagon was monitoring the situation and referring further questions to the Navy.
Both officials praised U.S. troops involved in the campaign, particularly artillery forces supporting the operation.
Caine said American soldiers and Marines had fired the Precision Strike Missile for the first time in combat during the conflict.
“In just the first 13 days of this operation, our artillery forces have made history,” he said.
“They fired the first precision strike missiles ever used in combat, reaching deep into enemy territory.”
The general described speaking with soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
“One had been in the Army only six months and had been in the unit for two months and was already deployed,” Caine said.
Despite their youth, he said the troops carried out their missions with professionalism and discipline.
“They spoke with the sense of calm, pride, purpose and clarity,” he said.
The confrontation between Washington and Tehran comes amid longstanding tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme, its missile arsenal and its network of regional proxies across the Middle East.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, carrying a large share of global oil shipments each day.
Developments in the conflict are being closely watched by energy-importing countries, including India, which relies heavily on crude oil supplies from the Gulf region and whose economy is sensitive to disruptions in global energy markets.
--IANS
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